Half Metal
by Sir Gadget
Summary: A fanfic describing exactly how Gadget came to be what he is.


Author's Note: This is a fanfic I began working on one day at school when our math teacher was absent. XD I found the explanation of Gadget's making from the movies unsatisfactory and came up with something myself, although I daresay it isn't much better. You can look at it in two ways; as chapter one of a much larger story or a mini-fic all by itself. I have already begun and outlined the rest of the story if I ever continue with it, but what I have completed of chapter two doesn't satisfy me and I might need to re-do it all over again. Please note that this is the very first IG fic I've written all the way to the end. XD

Half-Metal takes a more scientific approach to Gadget's creation. It takes place in a science lab rather than a hospital and tells us exactly how Gadget got so injured he had to be kept alive by merging him with machines.

Warning: Lotsa dialogue. XD

Anyway, without further ado, here we go.

------

Darkness.

But at the flit of an eyelid, it became red.

Red.

Whether it was scarlet, maroon, blood red or crimson was impossible to tell.

It was simply red--somewhat clear, but vividly, brightly red all the same.

And in that pool of red floated bubbles. Hundreds and thousands of them, all ascending to the top of the giant tube the red ooze was contained in.

And beyond the red was a perfectly clear substance; glass, visible and noticeable only because of a large gash that cut across and into the thick material.

And beyond that; beyond that was a science lab, full of computers and scientists and stocked with devices with unknown uses and vials full of unknown concoctions, all of it appearing bright red as seen through the vivid liquid.

What a marvelous science lab it was.

And then there was a call, and the red liquid began to drain, and the giant tube began to raise off its base into a giant mechanical machine in the ceiling, cool wind gushing in on the specimen it had held; cold air, so very different from the warmth of the tube--frigid, numbing air.

"He's awake," came a voice from a scientist who had positioned himself about six feet away from the ascending tube. His mop of hair was a sandy blonde and fell messily around his face in untamed curls. In his hands were gripped a pen and clipboard, onto which he was writing feverishly.

"Quicker than we thought," came the reply of another scientist.

The blonde nodded and turned to the tube-base; on it was a man, dripping with the red liquid he had been submerged in. His steel grey eyes were half-open and unfocused, giving him a delirious appearance. His hair, though limp and wet in most places, had dried for the most part into jagged, spiky tufts on the sides and messy, brunette bangs which fell short of his eyes. His naked knees were drawn up to his chin and his thin arms curled around them in the position he had been in inside of the tube. The steel eyes slowly opened fully, blinked, and then focussed on the clipboard-holding scientist.

"Good day, Inspector, I see you're awake and well now," said the scientist as he scribbled a quick note on his already handwriting-covered clipboard.

Inspector?

"I know you must be rather confused with a thousand questions just dying to get out of you," continued the blonde, "so when you find your voice, ask away. I'm here to answer all your queries and clear all your doubts about the recent events that have occured."

The dripping man stared at him for a moment, as if slowly absorbing his words. He suddenly blurted out the first thing that came to mind-- "Who are you?" His voice was somewhat scratchy from lack of use, although a note of fear was audible.

The scientist smiled. "I am Doctor Victor Gulliver," he said. "You are currently in the Metro City Science Lab."

Metro City... The name was familiar. Very, very familiar.

"...Science lab?"

"Yes."

The brunette peered hard at the doctor. "Why am I in a science lab?"

"You met with a terrible accident a few weeks ago. You've been in here ever since."

"Accident?"

"Precisely," said Victor as he unconsciously stuck his pen behind his left ear.

"What accident?"

"The accident that made you an Inspector."

The 'Inspector' frowned at this unsatisfactory answer. "I don't remember."

"Ah, I'm sorry. If I'd have known, I would have told you earlier."

"How could an accident make me an Inspector?"

The scientist's cheerful expression faltered somewhat. "In a nutshell, you slid down four flights of stairs after stepping on a banana peel whilst chasing a M.A.D. agent. Your intentions were fine, but it would have cost you dearly if we hadn't found you. The fall would have been very fatal; nearly every bone in your body was broken, and apparently the agent took advantage of the situation and stabbed you repeatedly with his knife."

The man cringed, as his memory slowly trickled back to him, and as he began remembering the pain--every snap that destroyed his bones, the throb of agony as he hit the ground after every flight, and every stab that had pierced his chest--who would have thought a banana peel could cause such torture? "But how on earth did I survive that?"

"We... Enhanced you."

"Enhanced me," mumbled the Inspector, a confused look on his face.

"You see," began Victor as he paced the lab, uncertainly, "the damage you received was too extensive for you to survive, no matter what we did. In order to save your life, we used a program we'd been developing for a while. It had not fully completed its testing stages, but it was all we could do to save you--and that required that we install some mechanical and electronic parts in your body."

"...I'm a robot," said the Inspector, voice shaking and eyes wide.

"Not fully. You see, most of your internal organs were intact so we left those alone. However, we had to remake your bones by connecting the broken parts with metal. And your limbs... Well, you'll find that they are quite normal to use, but they... They're completely robotic. We installed a chip in them that can be controlled by your mind. I hope you'll be okay with them."

"I...Wha...Robotic? My limbs?" sputtered the nameless Inspector, disbelief shown clearly on his frightened face.

"I'm sorry, Inspector, but it was all we could do. It was better than you living your whole life with nothing at all."

Sighing, the Inspector nodded, hanging his head, although tears welled up in his grey eyes. What had they done to him? Would anything ever be the same again?

Pity shown on the doctor's face, and he continued, "There are some positives to this situation, as well," he said slowly as the Inspector carefully evaded looking at him. "As we figured it would be best if you continued your life as it was before this incident, you were to keep your job, as well," he said. "We gave you some... extras... To help you along the way and perhaps keep anything like this from happening again." He folded his arms and went on, "You have an array of gadgets available for your use. You have nearly everything you could think of inside of you that you can call on and use. Hence, your name: Inspector Gadget. That'll be you, and you'll go by this name always."

Inspector Gadget didn't question, but seemed uncomfortable at a new name, new life and new abilities all at the same time. It was all he could do to keep back another wave of tears as he thought of it; no, it would not be the same ever again. He thought back on his life before the banana skin incident, as he privately decided to call it; of the job he loved that cost him half of his body, his grumpy boss, of his family--his niece--Penny.

Penny! How had she been while he was in the lab? How was she taking the whole thing? Gadget longed to see her again; she was always cheerful and loving and would have certainly helped make his current situation seem a lot better.

He bit his lower lip and looked up at Victor. "How has Penny been?" he asked.

"She's been fine. She'd been staying with Chief Quimby for a while at the Police H.Q., but we moved her into a hotel room since she refused the orphanage, even for a little while." 

Gadget sighed in relief. When neither of them spoke, he took a good look at the lab. For the first time, he noticed that all the scientists were watching him and Victor. And for the first time--he cringed--he noticed he wasn't wearing anything.

The thought must have shown on his face, for Victor smiled faintly and said, "Your clothes are right on the table there. We can give you some well-deserved privacy while you get dressed."

Still chewing his lip, Gadget nodded. He had no time for embarrassment when there was so much on his mind. After the last gawping scientist left and the door closed behind him, he slid off the tube-base and wandered over to the table Victor had pointed out, observing with fascination the various instruments the lab technicians used for their vast amounts of research in a feeble attempt to make himself forget everything that had just taken place.

He then turned his attention to the garments on the table; a full police Inspector's uniform, all the way down to the grey trenchcoat and matching hat.

He extended an arm to pick them up, but then a thought crossed his mind; what if Chief Quimby would make his new rank difficult for him? After all, a simple security guard wouldn't have the experience required for the job, as they were almost completely different; it was like a doctor attempting to be a firefighter.

Yet finally, when he figured he didn't have a choice (and that he actually wanted to be an Inspector anyway) he pulled everything on; the white shirt, the blue tie and pants, the trenchcoat and the fedora. It was likely Victor or someone else had already explained the predicament to the Chief anyway.

And with the determination to start his life again and make it better than it had been, to make do with these new 'enhancements' and to be as similar to his old self as possible, Inspector Gadget turned and headed for the door, missing it by about a foot and colliding with the wall.

…Even if you're turned half-metal, some things can never change.


End file.
